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By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
07/28/10 12:29 AM ET
HOUSTON -- Brett Myers jumped from his seat near the end of the Astros' dugout and began celebrating along with the rest of his teammates. A nip-and-tuck game had suddenly turned into a blowout, and Myers stood to benefit the most.The workhorse Astros pitcher had put himself in position several times this year to pitch into the ninth inning before being pulled for a pinch-hitter in a tight game. But when Lance Berkman sent an Andrew Cashner fastball 442 feet into the right-field seats for a game-changing grand slam, the Astros had a lead Myers wasn't about to give up in their 6-1 win over the Cubs at Minute Maid Park.
"I was pumped," Myers said. "That was huge right there. They had one of their young studs in there that throws hard, and Lance was able to turn on it. That was good stuff."
Myers extended his club record by pitching at least six innings in his 21st consecutive start to begin the season, and polished off his second complete game of the year by striking out the final three batters to seal the Astros' victory.
"Mr. Myers does it again," Astros manager Brad Mills said. "It was an absolutely outstanding performance, and he just continues to battle. It's fun to watch him do it time after time after time and compete like he does. That's something pretty special."
Myers (8-6) tied his career-high with 12 strikeouts and gave up four hits and one run. He carried a two-hit shutout into the ninth before Tyler Colvin led off the inning with a solo homer. Myers allowed an infield hit before striking out Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Marlon Byrd to finish the game.
"I just tried to throw strikes," Myers said. "I wasn't trying to strike anybody out at any point or any time. You've got to take your chances when you do get two strikes. I was tying to get ahead and let them put the ball in play as much as possible. They were a little bit more patient tonight than they were the last time we faced them, so I had to bring the ball back on the plate a little bit more. Luckily, they only squared up one ball good."
But this night was about so much more than Berkman's fifth career grand slam and another dominating performance by Myers. Upon closer review, there were heroes in Jason Bourgeois, Angel Sanchez and Hunter Pence, all of whom played key roles in Houston's six-run seventh inning.
As good as Myers was, Cubs starter Ted Lilly held the Astros scoreless for 5 2/3 innings, and the game remained tied after Cashner struck out Chris Johnson swinging to end the sixth. Cashner, a Houston-area product, started the seventh by hitting catcher Humberto Quintero, which turned out to be crucial.
The speedy Bourgeois ran for the slow-footed Quintero and swiped second base before Myers' sacrifice bunt moved him to third. The Cubs walked Michael Bourn, but Sanchez put down a squeeze bunt to score a sliding Bourgeois to put the Astros ahead, 1-0. Pence added an RBI single to make it 2-0.
"It was more of a safety squeeze," Bourgeois said. "I know that Cashner is a tough pitcher, and sometimes you have to play small ball. And it worked for us tonight."
Cashner proceeded to load the bases by walking Carlos Lee and hitting Jeff Keppinger, and Berkman crushed a 94-mph, 2-0 fastball and sent it over the bullpen in right-center for his first grand slam since Aug. 12, 2008.
"It was a great game," Berkman said. "It was well-pitched on both sides, an old-school type game. You manufacture a couple of runs, and the next thing you know, we've got a chance to score more and we're able to do that. So it's a good win for us, particularly since [Monday] we had a lot of chances to score and didn't take advantage of those. Tonight we capitalized when we had a chance."
Cubs manager Lou Piniella lamented a tough seventh inning for Cashner (1-4), who he said should have taken the out at first on the squeeze instead of trying to get Bourgeois at the plate.
"He got two quick strikes on the eight hitter and then he hits him," Piniella said. "They were going to pinch-hit for the pitcher Myers. On the squeeze play, you just concede the run and get the out and get the heck out of the inning. Those are things you learn as a young pitcher. You learn from that experience and you go forward."
Indeed, had Quintero not reached to start the seventh, Pedro Feliz was on deck to pinch-hit for Myers. Instead, Myers was finally able to finish a game by tying his season-high with 124 pitches.
"He's one of those guys, he's kind of a throwback," Berkman said. "He expects to throw 120 pitches every time out. That's his mentality and part of what makes him really good. It's his game, and he doesn't want to come out of the game, and he really doesn't care how many pitches he's got. I'm glad to see him be able to finish that."
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
